This hearty meatball vegetable soup is the perfect meal for a chilly day. The blend of flavors will have you coming back for more! It’s so easy to make, you’ll wonder why you haven’t made it before! This recipe uses homemade meatballs but if that seems like too much work go ahead and use store-bought ones. I bet they’d taste just as good!
One thing this recipe doesn’t lack is flavor, which makes up for its simplicity in cooking time. When it comes down to it, the best soups are simple recipes with big flavors. So get your ingredients together because this one’s going on your list of favorites!
Why I Love this Soup
I don’t know about you, but I love soup. It is an excellent way to use up leftovers or fresh vegetables. Growing up, my mother made soup weekly, and one of her signature soups was minestrone soup. This meatball vegetable soup is modeled after my mother’s recipe, but instead of using ground beef, I made meatballs that cook by simmering in the soup. If you prefer to just use ground beef, you can also do that which makes it a bit easier. Each bite of this meaty vegetable soup brings delicious flavor, and comfort in a bowl.
Meatball Soup Ingredients
This soup is so versatile, it can be made with fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables you might have on hand. The broth base is the most important part and can be easily made with pantry staples. I used the following ingredients *see full recipe at the end of this post*.
- Meatballs – You can use fresh or frozen meatballs. I love to make my own meatballs from lean, seasoned ground beef that cooks in the broth.
- Noodles – This recipe is flexible in that you can use either egg noodles or pasta. I chose egg noodles because my children enjoy these type.
- Tomato-based products – You will need tomato paste, sauce, and canned tomatoes for this recipe.
- Broth – I used chicken broth for this recipe, but you could also use beef broth.
- Fresh veggies – Fresh onions, garlic, and carrots add delicious flavor, but you could use canned carrots as well.
- Canned veggies – Canned green beans, and mushrooms were used in my recipe. Of course, you can use fresh as well!
- Frozen veggies – I prefer using frozen sweet corn in my soup recipes because it has more flavor and crispness.
- Spices – Italian herbs, salt, and pepper were used in this recipe.
How to Make Meatball Soup
In a large soup pot over medium heat, add your chopped onions, carrots, garlic, and tomato paste. Once the smell becomes incredibly fragrant (yummy), add in the tomato sauce, and broth! Bring this mixture to a boil before adding in the frozen corn. Allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes before adding the canned vegetables.
Next, it’s time to make the meatballs. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef with salt, pepper, grated Parmesan, and Italian seasoning. Form tablespoon-sized meatballs, and drop them into the broth.
Once the meatballs are added, reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the egg noodles, and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Enjoy soup warm. Serve soup with additional freshly grated Parmesan, and fresh parsley.
Meatball Soup Recipe Variations
- Substitute canned and frozen vegetables for fresh varieties.
- Use orzo, macaroni noodles, or rotini instead of egg noodles.
- Use frozen meatballs, or seasoned ground beef instead of fresh meatballs.
- Beef broth can be substituted for chicken broth.
- You can use seasoned canned tomatoes, or low-sodium variety.
- Cheese can be skipped if you prefer to not use any.
How to Freeze Meatball Soup
Here are a few tricks for properly freezing meatball soup:
- Freeze in small portions so they’ll thaw quickly when ready to eat
- Make sure your containers are airtight. Freezer storage bags are a good choice.
- Label each container with a date and contents
- Thaw in refrigerator overnight
- Reheat at medium heat until steaming hot
- Serve immediately OR add cold water before reheating
- Allow soup to cool down completely after heating
More Delicious Soup Recipes
Hearty Meatball Vegetable Soup
Equipment
- Stovetop
- 5-quart stockpot or Dutch oven
- Wooden Spoon
- cutting board & knives
- can opener
- measuring cups
Ingredients
- 6 whole carrots peeled, and sliced to ¼" thickness
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 29 ounces tomato sauce
- 42 ounces chicken broth
- 28 ounces canned tomatoes undrained
- 10 ounces frozen corn
- 6 ounces jarred mushrooms drained
- 15.5 ounces canned green beans drained
- 1½ pounds lean ground beef *I used 85%
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasonings
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 ounces egg noodles
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese additional for garnish
- parsley to garnish
Instructions
- In a large soup pot over medium heat, add your chopped onions, carrots, garlic, and tomato paste. Saute the vegetables until they become tender and the smell becomes incredibly fragrant (yummy)!6 whole carrots, 1 medium onion, 2 cloves garlic, 6 ounces tomato paste
- Add the tomato sauce and broth.29 ounces tomato sauce, 42 ounces chicken broth
- Bring this mixture to a boil and then add in the frozen corn.10 ounces frozen corn
- Reduce heat to bring the soup to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for 15 minutes and then add the canned (or fresh) vegetables.6 ounces jarred mushrooms, 15.5 ounces canned green beans, 28 ounces canned tomatoes
- While the soup simmers, get a large bowl and add the ground beef, salt, pepper, grated Parmesan, and Italian seasoning to it. Mix these ingredients together to make the meatball mixture.1½ pounds lean ground beef, 1½ teaspoons Italian seasonings, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- Form tablespoon-sized meatballs, and drop them into the simmering broth. Add additional salt and pepper if needed to taste.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add egg noodles, and cook for an additional 15 minutes.6 ounces egg noodles
- Serve the soup warm in bowls. Garnish with additional cheese and parsley.parsley
Notes
- Substitute canned and frozen vegetables for fresh varieties.
- Use orzo, macaroni noodles, or rotini instead of egg noodles.
- Use frozen meatballs, or seasoned ground beef instead of fresh meatballs.
- Beef broth can be substituted for chicken broth.
- You can use seasoned canned tomatoes, or low-sodium variety.
- Cheese can be skipped if you prefer to not use any.
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